Aaaahhh England takes the second Ashes test at Lords

I haven't had so much fun cheering for an Australian side pretty much well... ever!

Geez I enjoyed this Test match. A bit of drama with the English (through their prolific SOUTH AFRICAN run-scoring connections), a bit of class - Freddie Flintoff showing what a loss he is going to be when he goes and the Australians making a game of it when everything looked to be lost.

Eventually it was a step too far and Australia will rue some average umpiring and the fact that they didn't get the runs in the first innings.

As an English cricket fan you have to proud. It is quite obvious that the guts shown by Collingwood in the first test match has worn off on the others who have suddenly realised that they can be competitive. Flintoff impressed me - as did Prior. I still think they are a batter / allrounder short and their lineup is going to be seriously exposed when Flintoff retires but
in all these guys put their hands up to be counter.

I don't rate Graeme Swann particularly highly but he deserves some mention as he seems to have come on a long way in the English setup. Personal opinion, I think he has done well because he knows what is expected of him. In a similar vein I think Paul Harris knows what is expected of him in the South African side and he has settled.

In comparison the expectation around Nathan Hauritz doesn't seem to have been settled.

Which brings me to the Australian side. There is not a lot wrong with this side when they click. Would Australia be 1-0 down after 2 games if Brett Lee had been in the side? I don't think so but he could have dished up a dogs breakfast and maybe they would have so there is no point theorising.

As an armchair fan personally think there are only two things that need to be done from an Australian side.

Number 1 - they need to decide if their strategy includes or excludes Nathan Hauritz. If it includes him then they need to tell them what they expect of him and back him on and off the field.

Number 2 - Ponting needs to remind them that they have come back from a loss at home to beat a far more formidable South African side not so long ago they can win this.

Still think the Aussies are good to take the series but hats off to the Poms for showing some grit and determination!

England snatch draw from the jaws of defeat

By Tom Mallows:

I suspect many England fans woke up on Monday morning thinking the events of the previous evening were some sort of perverse dream. The sight of Monty Panesar fending off the Australian pace attack is certainly something you only envisage in a deep slumber. But the reality will start to kick in when we get ready to do it all over again at Lord’s on Thursday still, crucially, on level terms.

However, whatever celebrations there were in the Cardiff sunshine should be forgotten quickly, make no mistake England got away with it at the Swalec Stadium. A whole session was lost on Saturday to rain, more than enough time for the Aussies to skittle through the England order, that they came so close even with the lost overs illustrates how poor England were in their second innings. As Strauss said after the game, tail-enders Jimmy Anderson and Panesar, magnificent as they were, should never have been put in that position after the rest of the line up, bar Graeme Swann and the superb Paul Collingwood, crumbled in the face of Aussie aggression.

With the ball, despite a flat and lifeless pitch, Strauss’ men appeared to capitulate as Brad Haddin and Marcus North piled on the runs. Too many wandering eyes looked to the heavens waiting for the gathering clouds to force them off the field and put them out of their misery. But as one frustrated fan wrote on a banner: ‘only cowards wait for rain’.

A contributing factor to the success of 2005 was the vociferous backing from the public. Early on Sunday afternoon much of that public were threatening to turn on their side, angry at their apparent lack of fight. But as the overs ticked by and the England tail end dug in the crowd became more and more involved in the game, holding their breath as each ball was bowled and breathing huge sighs of relief as each delivery was blocked. When Ricky Ponting shook hands with Anderson to signal the end of the game the huge cheer that erupted was reminiscent of Edgbaston or Trent Bridge during that famous series five years ago.

I think it was crucial that England avoided defeat going to the Lord’s test, especially given their poor record against the old enemy at the home of cricket. But while there is plenty of scope for improvement the manner of their great escape should give them some crucial momentum and help to re-capture the spirit of 2005.

Bear this in mind when you're checking the Lord's Test odds ahead of making a Lord's Test bet . If you want to get in the mood for a bit more rivalry, check out Betfair's fan v fan site.

Saturday mumblings

Ashes thoughts
I see Shane Warne has been quite critical of the English decision not to play the first Ashes test at Lords... Have to agree with him - this is supposed to be the greatest (traditional) cricket rivalry and you've got two sides playing in Wales?

I think the IPL - and to a lesser degree the SA vs. Aussie series - has shown just how important marketing is for cricket. As much as the purists would love things like the "Ashes brand" to try and carry on as is, the reality is that cricket needs to place marketing ahead of all else at the moment...

... I reead somewhere that the English didn't want to play the first match at Lords because the atmosphere was basically so hyped-up that it benefitted the touring sides.

To me that is really negative marketing for the game - If that were in South Africa or Australia the home marketing teams would be urging fans to come down in their droves to make sure that the home side "defied history"... and the fans would get into it and they would cheer every single wicket and run.

To me it doesn't make any sense and pushes cricket backward rather than forward.

West Indies
I see the West Indies once again collapsed in spectacular fashion yesterday to give a big win to the English.

Don't think you can read too much into this performance, simply because that is what the West Indies do - they simply switch-off when the tide is against them and decide to come back to the next test match and try again.

It would be nice to see them give the Poms a bit of a working over before the Ashes though!

Onions and Sidebottom

I don't mean to be completely facetious - ok yeah I do - can you really take a side seriously when their bowling attack comprises guys named Sidebottom and Onions...??

I mean what are you going to have:

C Cook B Onions....?!

On a more serious note though the English have got the West Indies against the ropes at Lords in the first test match. Have to give credit where credit is due - the English showed a bit of innovation opening their bowling with Swann.

Cricket is a funny old game!

Top Test Venues

The fun and games with the second England vs. West Indies test match got me thinking about Test venues around the world.

Despite being an avid cricket fan, my live cricket viewing experience has been limited to South African venues like Centurion Park and the Wanderers... I can even proudly say I've batted on the main strip at the Wanderers and got a score of 8!

But watching the Australian series, I had such an urge to get on a plane and go and watch some of the cricket at the SCG, MCG and Gabba.

Lords would also be nice just to say - Been There, Done That.

Cricket in the West Indies wouldn't be too bad either methinks... provided you actually get to watch some cricket!

I wonder a bit what cricket in India would be like... the atmosphere looks like nothing we in South Africa or Australia could ever replicate...

I dunno - do our readers have any recommendations or "Must visit" places for cricket fans?